GW was chosen commander in chief of the Continental army on 15 June 1775, and on 23 June he left Philadelphia to take up his command. The cash accounts for June are the last ones that will be printed in the Papers, although GW continued to keep accounts until his death.

2. Colonel Harrison is undoubtedly Benjamin Harrison (d. 1791) of Berkeley in Charles City County, GW’s fellow delegate to the Continental Congress. Mr. Thomson is Charles Thomson, secretary of the Congress.

7. Dr. Smith was probably William Smith (d. 1822) of Philadelphia who graduated as an M.D. in 1771 from the medical department of the college in Philadelphia. He was the junior partner for many years of the leading drug firm of Lehman & Smith (Beath, St. Andrew’s Society description begins Robert B. Beath. An Historical Catalogue of The St. Andrew’s Society of Philadelphia: With Biographical Sketches of Deceased Members. 2 vols. Philadelphia, 1907–13. description ends , 2:150–51).

9. John Galloway’s tailoring shop was on Second Street in Philadelphia, opposite the City Tavern.

10. Jacob Hiltzheimer (c.1729–1798) came from Germany in 1748 and became a farmer and breeder of livestock. He began keeping a public stable in Philadelphia in 1776 where he kept horses belonging to members of the Continental Congress.

11. Elias Botner seems to have had a saddlery business. On 22 June 1775 GW bought “1 portmantle pillean stuffed [and] 4 long Straps &c.” for 18s. from Botner. The amount was paid in full for GW by Benjamin Randolph (DLC:GW).

12. Benjamin Randolph, a cabinetmaker, boarded several members of the Congress at his home on Chestnut Street in Philadelphia.

13. Daniel Smith was the proprietor of the City, or New, Tavern on Second Street between Third and Fourth.

The National Historical Publications and
Records Commission (NHPRC) is part of the National
Archives. Through its grants program, the NHPRC supports a wide range of activities to
preserve, publish, and encourage the use of documentary sources, relating to the history of
the United States, and research and development projects to bring historical records to the
public.

Founders Online is an official website
of the U.S. government, administered by the
National Archives and Records Administration
through the NHPRC, in partnership with the
University of Virginia Press,
which is hosting this website.